Wrapped the base board with marine vinyl for easy cleaning and a bit of water proofing. Will make a cover for back seat for the kiddies booster seats with the same material. (Forgot who it was) but I borrowed the idea of using marine vinyl to protect the seats from kiddie mess. Thanks!

 

Well it is not currently frozen outside so I decided to take out my rear interior and find my water leak. Every gasket leaks. Both turn signal housings, hatch handle, and third brake light. Found my third brake light is broken. Any recommendations?

 

Hmmm thats a good idea actually, keep us posted. Also are you a hiker? I see the pack!

 

Added a little bling.

 

 

@ 159,812 miles

Yesterday (1/9/16) I installed Koni FSD struts and WMW strut tower reiforcement plates.
Today (1/10/16) I replaced the left and right parking brake cables.


I broke the head off the pinch bolt on the pass.side steering knuckle and was unable to remove the old strut. I could not extract the rest of the bolt, so I bought a used knuckle on eBay ($75 + free shipping). When the replacement knuckle arrives I will swap it in and then put the Koni strut in.

 

Should keep my seat a little cleaner.

 

Let me know how you like the FSD setup when its all done. I am debating the same setup. But believe it or not a friend and I broke the bolt in the outer balljoint on the steering knuckle..had to get one from a junk yard it was not too bad though. I feel your pain

 

It may be a couple of weeks before I get Jasper back on the ground, but I'll definitely let you know.

Any new struts will be better than the ones I took out. lol They are completely shot. When I push the shaft down into the strut it just stays there.

 

Ok sounds good

Yea I agree I think I am in the same situation on mine as well. 136k on OEM struts im sure it has a lot of room for improvement.

 

Woke up to a DEAD BATTERY. The cold Kansas mornings did I number on my Barnaby. Got a jump from USAA, headed over to autozone and confirmed the battery was TOAST, and bought a new Duralast Gold for $180. Now I am back on the road again. All in a day of MINI ownership ..

 

Sounds like all the leak points in the rear that can happen did happen. If needed - trunk lid gasket here, rear hatch grip here (either chrome, primed, black, or carbon fiber), third brake light here. You can shoot me a PM if you have any questions or need anything else. Good luck with the repair.

 

Oh that sucks! Happened to me about 6 months ago!

I like the Gold... Pricely little btards but good. I also recently found out that you cannot "service" that battery. It is sealed. so when it goes, it goes!

I like to watch the water levels and add water as needed. So all I can do is charge it up every 6 months and hope it lasts the 4.5-5.5 years!

 

"Every gasket leaks. Both turn signal housings, " Tail light housings ?

 

Yea typical MINI Monday haha! So far so good the battery seems to start the car up A LOT better than the past few months. Its weird but it seems to run smoother actually. Could all be in my head though.

 

Engine not struggling as much to turn alternator?

 

I wonder if that is it actually. I was having an issue with cold start/sputtering and was told it was the CAM Sensor and now I am not even getting that issue after the new battery..I wonder if I even need to install the CAM sensor now..

 

Have heard that same basic symptom on some Hybrids when 12V battery gets weak. Yours could have been a combination of dying battery and CAM Sensor. I'm not an authority, but had read about hybrids running rougher as a weak battery demanded more charge. New battery installed and the car ran smoothly again.

 

Nope! Totally agree with you! New battery = smoother running car! I can totally relate to that as well.

 

I swapped keys today. The manual says to do it to keep them charged, so when I pay my insurance I swap them out.

 

That's a great idea!!

 

Awesome! So I am not crazy then haha I am even thinking I am getting better gas mileage haha we will see..

 

Thanks, man

 

My car started fine this morning even in the 10 degree weather! Thanks new battery!!

 

Yea, its been every cold on the east coast and snowy. Glad the battery is pulling through. This is the time you don't want to be stuck . We have jumper kits just incase.

https://www.ecstuning.com/Search/SiteSearch/ES2986358/




Also charges Ipad/ iphone / ipods also.